Members of the Latino Student Alliance and other students protest in favor of in-state tuition at Rutgers University in New Brunswick in this 2010 file photo. New Jersey lawmakers are again considering legislation that would charge in-state tuition to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.Jerry McCrea/The Star-Ledger

TRENTON — As Congress debates an overhaul to the federal immigration system, New Jersey lawmakers again took up controversial legislation today that would allow students living in the country illegally to pay in-state tuition at the state’s public colleges.

The bill, dubbed the “Tuition Equality Act,” was approved by the state Assembly Budget Committee after a lengthy hearing in Trenton. The crowd in the chamber, which included immigrant students who have been pushing for the change for years, cheered as the committee moved the bill.

The legislation will now go to the full Assembly for a vote. Similar bills have died in Trenton in recent years. But supporters hope the movement in Washington, D.C., to pass immigration reform will help push New Jersey to make college more affordable for students who entered the country illegally.

Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen), one of the bill’s sponsors, said students brought into the U.S. illegally by their parents deserve the same chance to attend college as their American-born classmates.

“These students deserve any break any student should have in this state,” Johnson said. “It is not their fault their parents brought them here. They were raised here.”

Under the current system, students who entered the U.S. illegally can attend public K-12 schools and apply to New Jersey colleges. However, they are charged out-of-state college tuition if they can not produce documentation that they live in New Jersey legally.

That means students without legal immigration status often pay double the tuition of their classmates and are not eligible for federal and state financial aid programs. At Rutgers University, for example, in-state undergraduates paid $13,073 in annual tuition and fees last year while out-of-state students paid $26,393.

Students who have been granted deferred action, a temporary legal status, under a new program introduced by President Obama last year, also must pay out-of-state tuition in New Jersey.

Immigration reform advocates say the current system makes college unaffordable for most students living in the country illegally. Several students gave emotional testimony at the hearing detailing their struggles to pay tuition.

“Every semester I go with the uncertainty of whether I can continue my education or not,” said Renata Mauriz, who was brought to the U.S. illegally by her family eight years ago and currently attends County College of Morris.

Mauriz said there are about 40 undocumented students at her school now. She recently authored a study that found about 750 additional Morris County students could attend the county college if they were charged the same in-county tuition as legal residents.

If approved, the new legislation (A-4225) would allow students living in the U.S. illegally to pay in-state tuition if they attended a New Jersey high school for at least three years and earned a diploma. The students would also be required to file an affidavit saying they have filed or will file an application to legalize their immigration status.

Several lawmakers questioned whether the bill would encourage illegal immigration and take away spots at four-year colleges that could have gone to legal residents. They also questioned whether colleges would be able to enforce the provision requiring students to file for legal immigration status.

Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris) said he found it unfair a U.S. citizen in Pennsylvania would be charged more to attend a New Jersey college than a student who entered the country illegally.

“That to me doesn’t seem right,” said Webber, who voted against the bill.

The Assembly Budget Committee also approved a second bill (A-3162), called the “Higher Education Citizenship Equality Act,” designed to make it easier for American-born students to pay in-state tuition and apply for financial aid even if their parents are living in the U.S. illegally.

Students under age 24 currently may be required to use their parents’ residence and tax information on financial aid forms. The new legislation would allow students to pay in-state tuition and apply for loans, grants and scholarships if they can prove they are U.S. citizens who have lived in New Jersey for at least 12 months.

“The fact that their parents are undocumented is not a cause for denial,” said Marlene Caride (D-Bergen), one of the sponsors of the bill.